Hey Guys! I can't even believe that it's already October! Summer flew by with nothing much to post about...we moved again last month, so we now reside in Lakewood, Colorado. Lakewood is in the southwestern corner of Denver. We have a nice view of the foothills from our new apartment and are way closer to the places that we like to go to for hiking and camping. Now that the weather is cooler, we have decided to hike at least once a week. Last week we went to Green Mountain. I posted a couple pictures on Facebook, but I didn't take very many because I forgot to bring the camera.
On Monday, JC and I drove up to Estes Park and went hiking on Cub Lake Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). It is one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever been on. We started by driving through Moraine Park (which is inside of RMNP) where we spotted two herds of elk. Elk breed in the fall, so one thing that everyone in Denver has to do is go see the elk during "The Rut." Bulls gather cows and calves into groups called harems. The bulls will sometimes fight each other for a harem; we witnessed one on Monday.
Here is one harem...
...and here is the other one.
And here are the two bulls fighting it out...
The bull from the first picture lost, but they just moved on. Although they left some of their harem behind...
Bull elk bugle to attract cows and intimidate other bulls. Its a bellow that ends with a rather high pitched scream.
This is the closest we have ever been to a herd of elk!!
Another reason to go to RMNP are the fall colors =)
They are just magnificent!
Aspens are my favorite =)
A lot of the hike was through burned areas of the park. Fern Lake Fire burned 3500 acres of RMNP in the fall of 2012. It was the worst wildfire in RMNP history.
One of the reasons I love fall is all of the colors. Reds, oranges, browns, and golds.... Such a beautiful field =)
So blessed to live in such a beautiful state =)
So JC easily makes friends with animals...
And this is what awaited us at the top of a 2.3 mile hike...
Next Monday we are going to Conifer to spend a day in their rec area with the dogs. Should be some good hiking there, so be ready for another post soon!
